"Evan Lin?"
A girl strode over, ponytail swinging.
"Your classmate? Emily, you never mentioned him before," a girl asked, curious.
She rocked a red-and-white tee and a cap.
The brim shaded half her face.
But those bright, lively eyes really stood out.
"Emily, you two know each other?"
Emily Yi snapped out of it, surprised as Mia Chen walked up.
Mia Chen.
Class monitor, Class 2-7, Brightsea No. 2 High.
Back then, Evan Lin was just a scrawny country kid who came to Brightsea for school.
Most classmates barely talked to him.
Only Mia Chen treated him like everyone else.
"Still, gotta hand it to you. Instead of going straight for her, you tried to go through Mia’s roommate Emily Yi, so it looks more like a coincidence."
The next time they met was at Old Man Liu’s place.
Mia and her neighbor Victor Zhou used to get extra math lessons there.
After that, they basically stopped talking.
"Want one?"
Who’d have thought they’d bump into each other here?
"He’s my high school classmate."
Mia nodded, keeping it simple.
A bunch of guys and girls trailed Mia Chen.
They all turned to check Evan out, sizing him up from head to toe.
"Your classmate? Mengmeng, you never mentioned him before," a girl asked, curious.
"Yeah, what a coincidence. He’s not here just to see you, is he?" another girl teased, giggling.
"Don’t be ridiculous," Mia said, giving her a playful smack.
"Long time no see," Evan nodded.
Mia Chen hadn’t really changed much.
Actually, she’d gotten even prettier.
Girls really do change a lot as they grow up.
It’d only been a year, but Mia was way more radiant than before.
Her skin looked so soft it could drip water.
"Honestly, it’s possible. Mia Chen’s gorgeous—of course she’s got guys lining up to chase her," said a boy in black, pretending to sound cheerful.
He looked at Evan, stepped forward, and smiled—but his eyes were totally wary. "Bro, this whole ‘accidentally running into Mia Chen’ act is way too obvious. You’re not hiding it well enough."
"Still, gotta hand it to you. Instead of going straight for her, you tried to go through Mia’s roommate Yimeng, so it looks more like a coincidence."
"Smart move, but the execution’s lacking. Plenty of guys have tried this trick before, and it never works."
He was all smiles.
That smile said he’d seen right through Evan.
Like he was itching to expose Evan’s so-called ‘act.’
He knew Mia had zero interest in guys who tried to engineer these ‘coincidences.’
Not only was she not interested—she actually hated it.
Mia Chen never liked guys who played mind games.
She had tons of pursuers, but so far, not a single guy had gotten more than a passing glance.
Back at Brightsea No. 2 High, Mia was already the campus queen.
Now in college, she kept it low-key, but her looks alone were enough to draw waves of guys, all lining up to try their luck.
A lot of guys even figured out Mia’s biggest turn-offs—top of the list: those little tricks guys think are clever.
So as soon as Evan showed up, this guy couldn’t wait to ‘expose’ him for staging the whole thing.
All so Mia would instantly dislike Evan.
He felt pretty pleased with himself for thinking it up.
He was sure that after what he’d said, nothing this kid said would matter.
Mia Chen would absolutely hate him.
"I’m just here for business. Didn’t know I’d run into you."
Evan didn’t even look at the boy—he just explained to Mia.
Back in his last life, Mia Chen was a pretty good class monitor to Evan.
She’d even helped Evan out with a bunch of math problems.
But after Mia misunderstood Evan—thinking he was just another guy scheming to get close—she started keeping her distance.
Evan never pushed it, so their contact faded.
Now, hearing Evan’s answer, the boy’s lips curled up.
Pretty much every guy who tried to stage a ‘coincidence’ gave the same excuse.
The girls nearby couldn’t help but laugh.
Everyone knew Mia Chen’s personality.
They were all curious—wondering how this guy would crash and burn.
Everyone figured Mia would just give him a cold look and leave.
But—
"Did you come alone?" Mia paused, looking at Evan, and couldn’t help asking.
She asked one more question.
That question left everyone stunned.
Back in the day, Mia never wasted words on guys.
But now, this kid actually got Mia to say one more thing?
The boy’s smile faded, his brows furrowed.
The other guys were just as shocked.
"Sort of. I’ve got friends waiting for me over on Seahaven Island."
Seeing Evan nod, Mia was still wondering what else to say.
After the college entrance exams, Mia found out Evan had turned down a guaranteed spot at Huaqing, then got into Rivercrest State as Jinnan’s top scorer.
She was stunned for ages.
She spent a long time reflecting, thinking maybe she’d misjudged Evan.
But they never got a chance to meet again.
Mia still had no clue how Evan was doing at school now.
She didn’t have his contact info, and never asked for it.
"Hey, here’s some ice cream—Mia, I got your favorite strawberry!"
Not far away, a boy jogged over with a bunch of ice creams in hand.
His face was all smiles.
But when he saw Evan standing there, he froze.
Even his smile turned stiff.
He frowned, and his running slowed to a crawl.
He walked up to Mia, shooting Evan a look full of hostility.
"Thanks."
Mia took her ice cream.
Everyone else got one.
Only Evan’s hands were empty.
He looked like the lone guy in a crowded elevator when someone hands out snacks—kind of lonely, honestly.
Like standing in an elevator, surrounded by guys and girls.
Normally, you wouldn’t even notice.
But suddenly someone whips out a box of cookies, opens it up, and hands them out—everyone gets one, except you.
All at once, you’re the odd one out.
Mia held her ice cream, hesitated, then handed it to Evan.
"Want one?"